Lays Out Second Set Of “Ideas To Reclaim America” As Clear Alternative To Washington

Jacksonville, FL – Today, at a town hall meeting in Jacksonville, U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio made the second in his “Ideas to Reclaim America” proposals to offer a clear alternative to the out-of-control spending in Washington. America is the greatest country in the world but Washington has been taken over by big spending politicians from both parties who will say or do anything to get elected. Marco is the only candidate who will challenge the direction they’re taking our country.

“My children – Amanda, 10; Daniella, 8; Anthony, 5; and Dominic, 2 – are too young to understand what Washington politicians are doing to them and their generation. But I do, and it’s what motivates me each day to do something about it. The decisions we make today and in the coming years will determine what kind of country they live in. Every day we postpone acting decisively to rein in wasteful spending and cut the debt, we pile even more on the backs of millions of young Americans,” said Marco Rubio.

To start cutting spending in Washington and begin to reclaim our country, Marco has proposed 12 simple ideas:

• IDEA #1: Cut The Budgets Of The White House And Congress By Ten Percent. As recently documented, the budgets of the White House and Congress are out-of-control. Salaries alone at the White House have increased by at least $4 million from 2008. We must cut the budgets of Congress and the White House by 10%. One of the first things Republicans did when they took over Congress in the 1990’s was reduce the number of committees, committee staff, and cut the Congressional budget. We need to do it again, this time adding in the White House budget.

• IDEA #2: Reduce The Size Of The Federal Bureaucracy. To get spending under control, we must cut the size of the government workforce. To begin, we should freeze federal civilian workforce pay for one year and bring the pay scale back in line with market rates. In addition, we should reduce its’ size to 2008 levels. To accomplish this without disrupting critical government services, we should implement a policy of only hiring just one civilian employee for every two that leave government.

• IDEA #3: Reallocate The Bank Bailout Program Funding To Cut The Debt. While the TARP program needs to be ended, using it to help offset the Financial Regulation Reform, which is beyond its purpose, is wrong. The funds should be returned to the Treasury and other spending cuts should be made to offset the financial regulation reform costs.

• IDEA #4: End The Stimulus Program And Use The Savings To Cut The Debt. We must end the wasteful stimulus program that has failed to create jobs. Stimulus money that has not been spent should be used for something that will actually help the economy and create jobs, or to pay down the debt. Canceling unspent stimulus funds could save over $300 billion.

• IDEA #5: Ban All Earmarks. We should ban earmarks as Sen. Jim DeMint proposed in Congress this year. This could save $15-20 billion annually and stop Congress from using pork barrel projects to buy votes for things like the health care bill. Marco will also demand on-the-record votes for any proposal that requires taxpayer money to be spent on a specific federal program.

• IDEA #6: Pass A Constitutional Amendment Requiring Congress To Balance The Budget. A balanced budget amendment will force Congress to make cuts by eliminating spending, not raising taxes. If the Florida Legislature and almost every state in America is required by their state constitution to pass a balanced budget each year, so should Washington and Congress.

• IDEA #7: Require Any New Federal Taxes Only Be Approved By A Two-Thirds Vote Of The House And Senate. With the out-of-control spending and our mounting debt crisis, Democrats in Washington will be pushing an agenda to increase taxes on Florida families. To prevent that, Marco believes that any new taxes require a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to pass. This will ensure that the balanced budget amendment achieves its’ goal via spending cuts, not tax increases.

• IDEA #8: Put A “Check-Off” Box On The Federal Tax Form Allowing Taxpayers To Designate 10 Percent Of Their Existing Tax Bill To Go Toward Paying Down The National Debt. In the Senate, Marco will support proposals that would allow individuals and businesses to check-off an amount, up to 10 percent of their existing tax bill, to be dedicated to retiring the national debt. Congress would have to match the amount contributed by taxpayers from taxes they already owe with spending cuts. If not, a Gramm-Rudman style across-the-board reduction would occur, exempting certain critical spending such as Social Security and defense. This would help Congress to prioritize spending.

• IDEA #9: Automatic Sunset Of Government Programs. We need to end the permanent lease on life that government programs are given. Too often, Congress creates a spending program, increases its’ funding and never looks back to see if it is actually working. We should mandate that all discretionary spending programs end every 10 years after the Census unless Congress specifically votes to continue them.

• IDEA #10: Freeze Federal Non-Defense, Non-Veterans Spending At 2008 Levels. We should freeze non-defense and non-veterans discretionary spending at pre-Obama levels. In addition, we should actually enforce our goals to cut spending and reduce the deficit by making automatic cuts if politicians won’t. This could save hundreds of billions of dollars over 10 years.

• IDEA #11: Give The President The Line-Item Veto. Marco believes the President should have the authority to make line-item vetoes to the federal budget. If most state governors have the power to veto unnecessary individual spending, so should the President.

• IDEA #12: Reform Entitlement Programs. Over the next 75 years, the present value of the total shortfall in Social Security and Medicare will exceed $45 trillion. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are going broke and will bankrupt our country. Benefits for those currently receiving them or those approaching retirement should not and will not change. But the truth is that for those who are younger, the programs will need to change or they will no longer exist when they themselves approach retirement age. Unlike his opponents, Marco has been willing to confront this reality, to talk about it with voters, and to come up with common-sense solutions that will safeguard our economic future.